HALIFAX

So I'm approaching the one-month anniversary of living here in Halifax. I must say that my initial impressions of the city were favourable- it reminded me very much of Ottawa, where I went to school. Over the span of a month, I have fallen in love with this city, and its people.

Halifax is a city that has experienced tragedy in the past and is therefore always ready to help others in need. It has a strong spiritual heritage, and I like to think of it as a sleeping giant that is ready to be wakened in order to become a sending ground to the rest of the Maritimes, the rest of Canada, and yes, even the rest of the world. Something big is going to happen here- it's only a matter of time.

There is also something really special about being right by the ocean. Yes, it means lots of fog at certain times of the day, as well as changes in the weather on short notice, but I love being by the ocean. And maybe it's that salt water air that causes the people here to be so laid-back, so open, so welcoming, so friendly. You could almost describe Haligonians (yeah, that's what you call a native of Halifax...pretty cool eh?) as being "folksy". Pretty much everyone I pass on the streets to and from campus or around town give a nod or a hello, or even a "g'day". The pace of life is a lot slower than Ontario, but there seems to be a contentment. A lot of students that I talk to who are from the area have no burning desire to move away to other parts of the world. Are they being complacent? Not at all. They enjoy where God has placed them and would be perfectly satisfied to stay here for the rest of their lives.

I must say: I love it here.

Halifax is also home of many Canadian firsts (this is me putting my history degree to good use here):

-Canada's first protestant church
-first post office
-oldest residential government house
-oldest naval dockyard

Halifax also has the highest ratio of educational facilities to population in North America with its six universities and approximately 30, 000 students.

Here, then, are some other interesting tidbits about the city, or other characteristics.

1- Pedestrians totally dominate the roads here. Seriously. It's mind-boggling. Even in downtown or the busiest of streets, people can walk right out in front of cars as though it's nothing. And the cars slow down and calmly stop, no honking of horn. If anything, the aggressive pedestrian gets a wave. It's beyond me. I've been in the car with Kelley a few times and she's almost nailed a pedestrian or two (and in no way am I suggesting that Kelley is a bad driver, she's great) because they randomly stepped out expecting her to notice them. I'm still getting used to this one.

2- I have seen city policemen on bicycles. Bicycles! I can see a cop successfully chasing a dude on his motorbike, but how the stink do you enforce the law from a bicycle?! And apparently there are cops on horses too, though I have yet to see this. It makes sense to me, since the RCMP is the provincial police force here.

3- It's very much a student town. Okay, I guess I sort of hinted at that with the stat about student/population ratio. But a lot of things here are student-oriented.

4- There are jokes about the smaller nearby town (in this case, Dartmouth), not unlike Toronto-Mississauga, Peterborough-Lindsay, Belleville-Trenton.

5- I would get into all my observations about life at Dal and SMU but maybe I should save that for a seperate post. Yeah, I think I will.

So that's all for now. I'll catch you later. For now, don't begrudge the fog. Wish instead that you were as free as it is.

Spoken like a true Haligonian.